She's On The Money - FRIDAY DRINKS: Wedding & Inflation Interplay

Episode Date: December 1, 2022

It's Friday so celebrate with Victoria and Jess as they recap the SOTM week and share your money wins and losses! This week's Money Dilemma is all about whether to prioritise home ownership over having more savings in the bank. Submit your Money Dilemma here.Plus...weddings. Yep, with V fresh off the back of hers we talk about the big day and the dollars behind it!Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements.The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708, AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

Hello and welcome to She's On The Money, the podcast for millennials who want financial freedom. Today is Friday, which means it is time to sit back with the girls with a bev in hand to unpack our favorite moments of the week. And of course, guys, to celebrate you, our incredible She's On The Money community. As always, we're going to be sharing our favorite money wins. We're going to discuss what's making news in the finance world. And we're going to be helping to answer a juicy money question, which this week is all about whether you should rush into home ownership with not many savings or wait until you have more capital. But more on that later, because I want to dive straight in to recap the week that was. And I'm going to tell you about

our money diarist. Oh, Jess, I wrote her name at the top of the paper and I nearly read it out. That could have been a catastrophe, but that is okay. Very close call. So this week's money diarist really got me in the feels, Jess. One, she was an absolute legend. She has a partner. she's really established she's got such great savings goals and hacks but when she was 23 years old her partner left her at seven and a half months pregnant and she had no idea what to do so obviously when her son turned three months old she just started casually her bachelor's degree of course you do having a newborn apparently really easy and then when he was four months old get this jess she moved to an aboriginal community because she was really passionate

about having an impact and that really came across, but she also had worked out that a lot of her living expenses would be subsidized and it would all work out really well for her. So she put herself in a position where she was able to save two thirds of her income, basically with a newborn or a four month old. And by the time she was 26, she had finished her bachelor's degree, purchased her house all by herself and her son is thriving. And this story was from my perspective, one of my favorite ones, because it was really, I grew up in poverty. I didn't have a lot story, but I wanted to make the most out of my life. We really spoke about Indigenous communities and the impact you can have there and that there are so many special roles you

can do to work in those spaces. And I just feel like it shone a light on something that I had not thought of before, because at 23, like what do you do with a four month old? Like that would be terrifying. I totally get it. But not only did she kind of take life by the reins, she just made it work and is better for it. Like she is just, anyway, I'm obsessed with her. And that was my favorite part of my week this week, Jess. Oh my gosh. She sounds incredible. Would you like to hear about Wednesday's deep dive? Obviously, yes. Can't be as good as our money diary though. You were there, but we spoke all about points hacking. Yeah, definitely not as good. And despite all of the recent kerfuffle, this was not an episode about getting your rewards points

stolen. It was all about maximizing the benefits of your points to get free things like flights and upgrades and hotel rooms, groceries, and all kinds of other fun things. And we ran through some really tangible tips and tricks. We spoke about a few different reward systems and things that are out there that people could look at leveraging. And we spoke about both credit and non-credit options. So regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, whether you have a credit card and you want to use that to your advantage, or whether you're someone like me who is like, I don't want that. I don't trust myself with that. There are still other great options out there for you as well. Do you know who's really good at points hacking that we didn't mention in the episode?

Who? Glenn James from My Millennial Money. Oh my God, yeah. Glenn is a legend at it. Yeah, literally so good at it. It was so frustrating just to drop the fact that we went to the US earlier this year again. He was there and us plebs, back of the plane. Glenn James, front of the plane. Rude. The man is doing something right. Yeah, and it is upgrading his flights using his points because he's like, I'm not paying for that. And I'm like, look, sir, understood, but also teach me your ways. And instead of asking him, we did it ourselves. Yeah, we did the research. We are strong, independent women who need no man.

We are ready to be points hacking queen. So hopefully people enjoyed that episode. It's something that we get asked about a lot in the Facebook group, and it was really fun to kind of dive into all the different options that are out there. All right, Jess, enough about Glenn James. I have heard enough about him today, but what I want to hear about now is our Budget Direct Community Money Wins and confessions of the week, what have we got? All right, let's kick it off with a hot one from Nadia who said, money win finally. I made $500 this weekend babysitting three kids. 500 bucks? I know. That's a good wicket. Babysitting three kids overnight instead of going down to Sydney

for the weekend and spending money. The cash is going to go straight into my IVF fund. Oh my gosh, that's so sweet. You were looking after kids to make kids. Oh my heart. It's like a practice run. It's like a little full circle moment. Yeah, I know. But also, do you know what that tells me? 500 bucks babysitting I can't afford kids kids are expensive really when people say like oh your life will change here I am being like you know what I'm trying really hard to create the life that I really want to live and earn the income that I really I still can't afford what people are talking about when it comes to like daycare yeah what child care expenses all of this stuff about babysitting like it's so expensive one of the girls on our team does babysitting on the side

like on the weekends or after school and she makes an innings from that like she makes so much money and it just reminds me that I'm just like you know what when Steve and I do decide to have kids they're coming everywhere with me because I can't afford this life I just can't justify it I will spend it on experiences that I can also experience I would just like to know if anyone else picked up on the fact that you just use not one but two cricket metaphors can you tell that over this period of time. Steve is talking non-stop about cricket. They had a good innings. I'm like, I've never heard you say that in my life. Oh, I've spent too much time recently with my dad and with Steve. And you know what they can't wait for? Boxing day test match. You know what I can

wait for? Boxing day test match. Oh my gosh. Relatable content. Now I've got a money loss for you. Turning tables a little bit from Lucy who said, money loss. Went out to dinner with family and friends and got the bill because the place didn't split bills. Sent my bank details and the receipt and weeks later, there is still no bank transfer. Awkward. That's the worst feeling in the world. Did she say family as well? Yeah. I mean, you know what? Harass your family. Like if there's anyone you can harass, it's your family, but also really poor form from your friends, Lucy. I'm so sorry. I just don't understand the audacity of people doing that because you don't know the financial circumstance somebody else is in, regardless of the fact that

that should not matter. But like, what if Lucy needs that money to make bills? What if Lucy needs that to put food on the table? Like, what if Lucy had really, really budgeted to go out for that nice meal and had gone, you know what, I can spend up to $25. And we don't know her from a bar of soap at this point. But like, there are a lot of people that would have budgeted for that experience and been like, all right, I'm going to pick something on the menu so that I can, you know, stick to the budget that I've got. And then, you know, being the good girl that she clearly is, she's like, I'll pick up the tab. It's okay. You guys will pay me back. And then she didn't get paid back. Like that's just the worst. It's going to give people anxiety to go out for dinner with

you guys again. It's just not kind. No, not at all. And it stresses me out knowing I owe people money. Like I just can't imagine being like, oh, she'll be right. As you know, Jess, I hate owing people money. It is not a thing that I enjoy, but who doesn't enjoy that? I want people to slide into my DMs. If you don't pay stuff back, slide into my DMs and tell me why. Yeah. Why do you have the audacity? Because I want to share that because I think that that is, are you lazy? Are you just rude? Forgetful maybe? Are you forgetful? Yeah. If you're forgetful, does it not weigh on your conscience? Like I just have so many questions. Anyway, Lucy, that is a money loss and we're sorry about it. Moving right along to a money win though from

Caitlin. She says, money win. I was going to buy a new dress for an event, but found something that I already owned, which was perfect. Will always be happy to re-wear a dress to save some money. Yeah, because you're a genius. And I just stand the attitude. Reware, don't care. I love that. I'm going to steal that. To hashtag use it ladies.

Next money win is from Elise who said, money win. I took a gamble on an interstate market for my small business, which I was hesitant about doing due to the high rent and expenses. I killed it and made enough money to not have to do any more markets for the rest of the year, which means I can spend more time at home with my family. Oh, my heart. How awesome. That is a money win.

And it makes me feel almost better about the last money loss. Yeah, keep killing it, Elise. Hope your small biz is going really well. That's a really solid way to be going into the Christmas season. It's really wholesome as well. I love when you hear about small business owners trying to weigh up the pros and cons and then you hear that they've just had a success. It makes me want to be like, yay, let's party.

Get it, queen. I have a short one from Bridget who said, money win, bought new Nike Air Forces for $45 because I fit in kids' shoes. Ah, yeah, genius. I love that. Big one. and last one I have here is from Joyce, who said, money win. I received my long service leave payout after finalising up with my previous job and it couldn't have come at a better time.

We've managed to pay off all of our outstanding short-term debts and have set up a savings plan moving forward. Love. Get it, Joyce. I love that so much. All right, Jess, as always, it has been great celebrating some of your Budget Direct money wins and confessions. Budget Direct winner of Canstar's Insurer of the Year Award 2022. Budget Direct, insurance sold. Brilliant. Should we go to a cheeky break and then come back and talk all things weddings? We'll see you on the flip side. I'm going to discuss Lucy's family in the break.

Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for having me. Oh, you're welcome anytime to my show. To my show, Jess is on the money. Yeah. Oh, my God. Can you imagine? It would be a total disaster.

But today I wanted to talk about an interesting article I read, and I thought it was very timely because what have you done recently to do with, you know, yourself and a man? and a very important day. What are you talking about? I think he might have got married. Who did that? She's a wifey. Ew, do not say that again.

You will lose your privileges on this podcast. Okay, I'm so sorry. But I read a really interesting article about weddings the other day and it was saying that the- You will lose money and it will be a bad investment. Is that what it said? More or less. Oh, yeah.

Relatable. It essentially said that inflation is hitting people so hard that weddings that were postponed during COVID are costing guests as much as an additional $20,000 because their vendors are going, sorry, food's more expensive. You've got to pay more. Sorry, the cost of flour is more expensive. You've got to pay more. All of these things. And obviously with COVID, so many people put their weddings off. So I wanted firstly to talk about, I guess, weddings in regards to inflation, but also Vida, just kind of get your perspective on what your experience was like, because you're like the freshest guinea pig I could possibly find.

I'll be honest, our budget absolutely blew out, which is why you guys didn't see any budgeting tips before the wedding. Not because I'm embarrassed by it. Like I'm in a very privileged position where we are okay financially after that. But there were a lot of things that either came back higher than what I had anticipated or quotes that I got that I was just not happy with. So I adore every single one of the vendors that we had at our wedding. And we're not talking about them here at all. Cause I don't want you to think if I'm talking about flowers, I'm like, Oh my God, wild floss was so expensive. Like that wasn't it. We got value for money there, but we obviously went and got other quotes and I was gobsmacked. It'll be obvious now I got married on the morning

to Peninsula, but they also had ridiculous travel fees. And I'm not saying don't charge travel fees. Like if you're a vendor, but like, can you just build it into the cost? So it doesn't feel like you're charging me $600 to drive from Melbourne down to the Peninsula, because I don't mean to be rude but that's an hour drive. That's a lot of money. And with how many weddings happened down there I didn't think it was like oh I'm getting married so rurally no one's ever been there. Like the Mornington Peninsula is full of wineries that have weddings most weekends and having grown up down there I basically was a waitress at weddings for like six or seven years. Like that's how I knew so deeply what I wanted because I'm like I've been

to this wedding and this wedding and I'm going to pull this and I'm going to pull that. Do you what I mean like I had dreamt this up my entire life of what this would look like so I feel like I thought I knew what I was in for but there were additional costs and there were things that I didn't anticipate and I don't regret any of it I'm really really grateful but I also just think it was ridiculous it was a lot but post COVID I think that there's also been this shift of vendors needing more upfront payment because they were screwed during COVID Jess That's such a good point. You know, if you were a caterer during COVID and you, you know, really successful caterer,

I'm assuming you probably have a nice mortgage. Like you've probably got some kids, you've worked out your business for the last 10 years maybe. And you, you just do wedding caterer. Like that's what you do. You do good food and you deliver it to weddings and people are stoked. COVID would have wiped that completely because we weren't allowed to have any events. So you couldn't put food on the table for your family. You couldn't pay your mortgage. So I think we need to reframe this from the side of the small businesses that are charging more because they're either trying to make up for lost time or they are trying to solidify things earlier and scare away all of the time wasters who might cancel or change because they just don't have that flexibility

anymore. So I think we need to be a little bit sympathetic, but I think also getting out, I don't know, as a recent bride, getting our heads screwed on about how much things actually cost, I feel is really, really important because, you know, things do blow out. So Jess, I don't know how to say this without sounding terrible, but I'm happy to share some of the costs from my wedding. And over time, we will probably share a lot more, but I always want to give a little bit of insight because I feel, do you know what? I'm really worried about being judged. I think it's no secret that my wedding wasn't a super budget DIY wedding. To be honest, I didn't have time. And I also was just so excited about this wedding. It was one of the biggest

values to Steve and I we were very excited about it but you know there's probably a photo that you might have seen of the champagne tower right and I feel like going into that I just assumed it wasn't that expensive right like you might have a drinks package at the place that you're going you just get some glasses and stack them right people just take them after I drink them surely yeah like that doesn't seem like an expensive thing to do at a wedding right I and when I added it in I didn't realized that it actually was. So let's talk about the champagne tower for a hot second. I had to hire a specific table for the champagne glasses to be stacked on. Are they glued down like the bottom row?

No, they're not glued down. They are special glasses. So we had like special crystal glasses that cost me extra to have, but I had to hire a special tray so that champagne, when you poured it, didn't go all over the floor. It's not a table. It's like kind of like a card tray in a but it was like clear acrylic and that tray you have to hire that cost me $500 Jess. For an acrylic tray? Yep it did include the glasses so I could have had the standard glasses but your girlfriend over here is quite bougie and I wanted those you know like the vintage feel champagne glasses. Yep. That's an extra $250 so just for the empty tray you are looking at $750 just for that experience and then I don't think it's a secret my favorite champagne in this entire world is Verve

not the most expensive champagne I mean we're not talking about like a 2001 bottle of Dom Perignon we are talking about a bottle of Verve which you can pick up at your local Dan Murphy's but not in the fridge section Jess which we learned last time we went to Dan Murphy's yes not in the fridge section because they've got beef apparently oh my god yes remember but you can get Moet in the fridge section yeah you'll have to buy your Verve from Dan Murphy's from the aisle because they're not going to refrigerate it for you. Chill it yourself. Chill it yourself. But a bottle of Verve is about $69 if you're buying it in bulk, which we had to. And to fill a champagne tower for about 130 guests, which we had, was $2,070. So that experience, which I thought would be a

nice addition. And, oh, Steve, we'll just do a champagne tower instead of a cake because both of us don't really enjoy cake, but we love a good glass of champagne. $2,820. I would never, like if you said to me, how much do you think a champagne? I wouldn't. I should have asked you that before I shared it. I wouldn't have gone anywhere either. I hope that when I share stuff like this, you guys are just like, oh my God, that's ridiculous. And you know what? There are going to be some people who are like, oh, she's got rocks in her head. Like there's absolutely no way. That's crazy. Like I get it. I think what you need to remember is we did our wedding with our values in mind and that was something really important to us and as I said just before

like we didn't have a cake and that was the substitute and wedding cakes can actually become quite comparable in price because of the time energy and effort that goes into them I'm not saying that it wasn't worth that but I think that I hadn't conceptualized before going into there that that was $2,820 that I hadn't budgeted because I assumed that you would just get some glasses, stuck them, chuck them on a table. After you've chucked them on the table, you just use the champagne that's at the wedding that you're paying per head, right? Yeah, that would make total sense. Well, because we didn't have champagne per head, we actually had a drinks package and included a sparkling. Yes, we probably could have used that, but like I wanted my favorite drink

there. And so Steve and I sat down when we worked out how much it would be and, you know, went back and forth and said, is this worth it? Is it not? Should we just use sparkling? Should we, you know, maybe us just drink a nice glass of champagne once we get married or should everyone have it and I was like no I want everyone to have at least one nice glass of fancy champagne and so that was a decision that we made and it really aligned with our values but Jess that's a lot of money so much and so I think that as a bride going into a wedding I just really didn't realize how expensive all the quote little things and if you're a bridal vendor please skip like all of this because you're just going to be scoffing that I didn't understand how expensive it was

But I've never done this before. I don't know how I was expected to know already. And I thought I was really educated on this process, Jess, because I used to be a financial advisor. I would see my clients' wedding budgets and what they were spending and how it worked, but like I'd never paid enough attention to the detail. And I hope that that, I don't know, little analogy just shares that, yeah, this stuff really does increase and that's got nothing to do with COVID. That's just some expensive thing that I had at my wedding that made me absolutely gag when I heard about it. Yeah. For anyone who did maybe get quotes 12 or so months ago or longer, it's definitely a good reminder as well to kind of go back, re-quote because prices have definitely

changed. And I feel like it's across a lot of the major categories that are already quite expensive as well. Like your food, your florals, your venue as well. Venue is the biggest expense for us. Yeah. And that's okay. But our venue did include food and beverage. Like it was kind of an all-inclusive package. But money win, we didn't get paid for the ceremony. And sometimes if you also want to get married at the venue, you have to pay an additional ceremony fee in addition to the reception, which I think is ridiculous because you're already there, right? Yeah. But a lot of places charge for that. And I didn't know until I started planning a wedding. Oh my goodness. Well, keep an eye out guys, because we definitely will have more wedding

content coming in the new year. Like Victoria said, now that she's had some time to relax and come back off of her honeymoon and digest it all a little bit. We are definitely excited to put some more stuff out there for you guys. Which I'm super excited about, but I also just think it's the most responsible thing to do. Now I've been through it. Now I know what this costs and how it works. How would I plan better? That's going to add way more value to you than you guys getting access to a budgeting spreadsheet that I ended up blowing out and was not nearly comprehensive enough. So I feel like I'm putting you guys in the best possible position that I can. I could not agree more. But is it about time that we listen to a money dilemma?

Oh, can't wait. Let's go. Hi there. Have you got a money dilemma you just can't solve? The She's on the Money team is here to help. Every week we tackle your dilemmas, both big and small, to answer your most burning money, career and life questions. To get involved, simply head to our website and leave us a short voice recording and you might just find yourself on the show. Now let's take a listen to this week's money dilemma. I have a small deposit using the government 5% scheme to avoid Elmite for a chance of buying a small two-bedroom property and getting in as fast as possible with not much savings to back me up. Do I do that or do I save at the end of next year I would have $60,000 in

savings and do I invest that money instead in something else or just wait and buy property when I've got more capital built up. Jess, I feel like this is actually a really good one for you to kick off with because you're in a circumstance where you're still looking for your first home. What would you say? I feel like as much as I understand the desire, like if I could get into a home tomorrow, I would do it. Do you know what I mean? Like I fully understand the want to get in as soon as you can, particularly with the changing rates and all of these things that kind of make it seem even more urgent than it was before but I would be very conscious personally as someone who is risk adverse to jumping into home ownership with

not a lot of money behind you because the thing about home ownership is that you then have a lot more responsibility so like as a renter if something breaks it's actually not my problem like I call my property manager and I say hey you need to fix the dishwasher and they go okay no problems we'll send someone or at least I hope that's what would happen if it did break That's what they usually do. Yeah, that's what I'm imagining. They're like a good, nice, easy landlord. It's not what happened in my experience, but moving on.

But I think that when you own the home, you've got to buy a new dishwasher. That's going to be, what, two grand, three grand? Don't even start me. We've already talked on this podcast about how much a new air conditioner costs me, and I am a salty steal. And that's just the incidental things that you don't necessarily factor in for, but then you've got your ongoing costs, your rates. If you are in an apartment, you've got strata, like there's all of these extra costs that

if you're going from renting or living at home to home ownership, as much as you're like, I'm paying off something and it's mine, it's a much bigger investment a lot of the time. And I think that if you don't have a lot of money behind you, you kind of put yourself in the position where potentially you could tip yourself beyond the point of things becoming a little bit too difficult. And I would just be very anxious about that. And that's going to put you in a worse off financial position. So Jess, that's exactly

what I would have said. I just don't think getting in sooner at the cost of your financial health and your mental wellbeing is worth it. I think that we should be putting ourselves in the best possible position. I don't think, and I know this again, a really privileged thing to say, but I think really important. I don't think you should be buying a house if you don't have an emergency fund left over. I think that every single person should not be using every single dollar in their account to get a mortgage? Because what if you move in and then it floods the next week? I mean, I'm pretty sure, Jess, there are statistics because I've seen them before. I will find them for another episode for you. But most incidents that happen in a property that are

kind of like, you know, just from negligence, let's call it, happen in the first three months of ownership because you're just not used to that house. So leaving the bath to overrun, leaving the heater on for too long, you know, breaking something because you just didn't understand how it worked. It's going to happen when you first move in. So I just, it makes me so anxious to think that you guys would move into a property and have no backup funds and no cash to draw on. Like what if you find there's mold in the house and your building inspector didn't pick it up? There's also all of those costs, right? When you're moving, if you're moving, it's a no-brainer to get a building inspection. It's a no-brainer to have to pay solicitors. Like the thing I would

be saying is really talk to your broker because a very good broker wouldn't let you get into a situation that is going to be at the cost of your financial security. And I know Jess, you're using Kate, our broker at Zella Money. And I mean, you've probably spoken to Nikki before as well and a couple of the other girls, but Kate would absolutely just keep telling you, Jess, no, that's not the house for you. It's out of budget. It'll mean that your financial circumstances would look like X, Y, and Z if you did that today. And you're like, yep, okay, no worries. So it's just so important to have somebody who wants to put you in the best financial situation. And quite honestly, that's often counterintuitive to a mortgage broker's role because they make their

money from the bank when the loan settles. So, it's actually kind of hard to find a broker that wants to genuinely put you in the best possible position, which is why we snapped Kate up so quickly. I feel like that's the perfect spot to leave it for today. Hopefully, that helped you out, Nikki. But thank you guys so much for tuning in. Don't forget, if you want to join the Facebook group, you can find us. There's over 260,000 people in there sharing their tips and tricks every single day. If you want to talk property, we also have the Property Playbook Facebook group as well. That might be a good spot for our money dilemma. If you're not into Facebook and Instagram is more your thing, we're also on there. We're on TikTok as well. You can find us. Not good,

not good content. Stop sending them there, Jess. I've got a lot to live up to. The TikTok content is great. It's like the grungy content that didn't make it to Instagram. Yeah. In fact, I only let her post it there if, yeah, I didn't want it on the Instagram feed. So nice, nice. See you guys there hopefully and we'll talk to you next week. See you on Monday. Bye. the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances she's on the money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision if you do choose to buy a financial product read the pds tmd and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards

your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.